With 5,450 Vehicles Crossing From Both Ends, Atal Tunnel Witnesses Highest Single-Day Traffic

Atal Tunnel, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October, has become one of the must-visit tourist places on the Manali Leh Highway. The strategic tunnel has witnessed a record single-day inflow of 5,450 vehicles on Sunday, according to a Hindustan Times report.  About 2,800 vehicles traveled towards Lahaul from Manali while 2,650 vehicles came from Lahaul.

On Monday, over 5000 vehicles crossed the Atal Tunnel Rohtang (ATR) from both ends.

“All vehicles going beyond Solang Nala towards the tunnel were compulsorily headed for Atal Tunnel Rohtang South Portal and then U-turns were facilitated there,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Kullu Gaurav Singh said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 3 inaugurated Atal Tunnel in Rohtang, which is the highest altitude tunnel in the world and has strategic significance.

The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 3, 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

The Union Cabinet decided in 2019 to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel to honour the contribution made by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Rohtang in persian means a pile of dead bodies.

The feasibility study for the Atal Tunnel was first done in 1990 and the foundation stone for the access road to the south portal of the tunnel was laid on May 6, 2002. The first blast took place in 2010 and the last blast in 2017. The tunnel was constructed using drill and blast NATM (New Austria Tunnelling Method) techniques.